Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett
“It was the acceptance of the fact that the world is as it is because I and thousands of others like me have refused to do anything about ourselves, and my willingness to do something about me, that brought me freedom and peace along with the knowledge that I must never cease my training if I would improve myself.”
– Rev. Roshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, from
The Wild, White Goose: The Diary of a Female Zen Priest
The Gift Rev. Master Jiyu Gave Us – by Rev. Master Meido Tuttle, 08-26-17. An audio recording of a Dharma talk given by Wallowa Buddhist Temple Prior Reverend Master Meido in 2017 at Shasta Abbey, on the occasion of the abbey’s Teachings of Our Tradition Retreat. Rev. Master Meido shares what she personally came to realize through her training as Rev. Master Jiyu’s disciple, recounting a story illustrating how this Gift revealed itself during her own exchange with a fellow trainee during an ordinary day in a life of practice. Click here to listen:
by Rev. Clairissa Beattie.
Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, 1924-1996
Suggested Readings
The Wild White Goose: the Diary of a Female Zen Priest by Rev. Roshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett. Mt. Shasta: 2002, Shasta Abbey Press, by Rev. Roshi P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett. The story of young Peggy Kennett’s journey to the East, her training as a newly ordained Chan monk in Malaysia and a Soto Zen novice and then Transmitted priest in Japan, alongside her personal insights into her own internal spiritual unfolding, all in her own words. (Available for pdf download at the Publications page of the Shasta Abbey website, https://shastaabbey.org/publications/, at many libraries https://www.worldcat.org/title/50869222, or for purchase at https://www.lulu.com/shop/rev-roshi-ptnh-jiyu-kennett/the-wild-white-goose/paperback/product-17e5mz74.html?page=1&pageSize=4)
“A True Heart Exists” by Rev. Clairissa Beattie (transcript of a Recorded Dharma Talk for Wallowa Buddhist Temple Congregation, November 6, 2020). A recent Dharma article offering a glimpse of how the living teaching can be passed on, in real life. Rev. Clairissa’s first-hand account of the days following Rev. Master-Jiyu’s death, including her funeral ceremonies, written from the perspective of a (then) young laywoman who is now a Zen priest and grand-disciple of Rev. Master Jiyu. Available for viewing and to download as a pdf here:
Roar of the Tigress: The Oral Teachings of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett: Western Woman and Zen Master, Vol. 1 “An Introduction to Zen: Religious Practice for Everyday Life.” Edited with an Introduction by Rev. Daizui MacPhillamy. Mt. Shasta: Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, 2000. Book compiled from her recorded talks by Rev. Master Jiyu’s disciple who succeeded her as Head of the Order until his death in 2003. (Available for pdf download at the Publications page of the Shasta Abbey website, https://shastaabbey.org/publications/, at many libraries https://www.worldcat.org/title/45341979, or for purchase at https://www.lulu.com/shop/rev-master-ptnh-jiyu-kennett/roar-of-the-tigress-volume-i/paperback/product-14qvgrj7.html?page=1&pageSize=4.)
Roar of the Tigress: The Oral Teachings of Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett: Western Woman and Zen Master, Vol. 2 “Zen for Spiritual Adults. Lectures Inspired by the Shobogenzo of Eihei Dogen.” Edited with a Preface by Rev. Daizui MacPhillamy. Mt. Shasta: Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, 2005. Editing of this second volume was mostly completed by Rev. Master Daizui before his death in 2003, with final publication completed by others within the Order. (Available for pdf download at the Publications page of the Shasta Abbey website, https://shastaabbey.org/publications/, at many libraries https://www.worldcat.org/title/45341979, or to purchase where used books are sold.)
Meetings with Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America, by Lenore Friedman. Boston: 1987, Shambhala Publications. Chapter 7 “Roshi Jiyu Kennett” (sic), pp. 160 – 191. The author recounts her experience of a visit to Shasta Abbey in the late 1980s, where she interviews the then-Abbess and Founder of the Order, Roshi Jiyu-Kennett, who candidly answers the visitor’s frank inquiries. Friedman also describes conversations with other monks of the Order. Provides a vivid sense of life at the monastery at that time. (1987 or updated 2000 edition, both widely available at many libraries https://www.worldcat.org/title/476373486, or to purchase where used books are sold.)
How to Grow a Lotus Blossom: Or How a Zen Buddhist Prepares for Death, by Rev. Master P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, M.O.B.C. Mt. Shasta: Shasta Abbey, 1993. Her clear explanation of her personal spiritual awakening, plus the vital importance of ongoing training. She says in her Foreword, “It is very essential, if a person has a similar experience to mine, that he does not suffer from the idea that he is the one and only to ever experience it. Nor must he cling to the experience…The reader should also know that he must not undertake meditation for the purpose of having this type of experience…One must, however, go on beyond the experiences; they should be learned from but not clung to. The teaching is all that matters.” (Available for pdf download at the Publications page of the Shasta Abbey website, https://shastaabbey.org/publications/, at many libraries https://www.worldcat.org/title/34669093, or for purchase at https://www.lulu.com/shop/rev-master-ptnh-jiyu-kennett/how-to-grow-a-lotus-blossom/paperback/product-186n984r.html?page=1&pageSize=4.)
“True meditation is not for cowards; it is hazardous, perilous and magnificent.”
– Rev. Master P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, M.O.B.C.,
in How to Grow a Lotus Blossom